Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

Su Chen stopped at a high vantage point, observing the mysterious building down the slope through his binoculars.

This was no ordinary cabin in the woods.

Its entire surface shimmered with the faint glow of Runes.

The way it formed was quite interesting. A nascent shape rose from the earth’s ley lines, distorting vision as it absorbed the surrounding light. Several towering, ancient trees nearby silently disintegrated, and even the hard rock formations were not spared.

In the end, all that remained on the spot was a small, intricate Rune building.

Such a process of converting matter into energy was truly astonishing.

A deer-like beast, drawn by the strange phenomenon, approached out of curiosity and jabbed at the building with its lightning-wreathed antlers.

CLANG!!

Sparks flew, and the glowing patterns on the wall’s surface suddenly fell into disarray. A small patch of Runes peeled off like shattered glass. The lightning deer-beast tried to catch it, only to find it was just an illusory gleam of light with no substance at all.

The deer-beast shook its head, shattered another piece of the wall, and then trotted away, satisfied.

’It can be damaged.’

To Su Chen’s surprise, he then saw a Demon Dog that arrived shortly after. It took a few bites out of the building’s surface, getting a mouthful of dust, but failed to gain any Elemental Power from it.

This showed that there was clearly no connection between the Rune building and the monsters.

There was no interactivity at all.

Even if the interwoven Rune patterns covering the building held some kind of information, it wasn’t presented in a way the monsters could understand.

This door was closed to the monsters.

It was clearly open to humans.

Su Chen suppressed his excitement and held back, because the Jade Pendant on his chest had begun to pulse.

Before long, the primordial character that had been incubating inside it was fully absorbed into his body.

A gentle, warm current surged out from his heart, instantly coursing through his entire body and seeping deep into his very cells.

BUZZ!

The depths of his Sea of Consciousness suddenly trembled, and a clear stream of information appeared.

’Cellular activity significantly enhanced. Self-healing ability greatly increased.’

’Immune system has completed initial evolution. Body’s resistance to viruses enhanced.’

’Physique +1.’

Attributes: Power 14 / Physique 17 / agility 13 / Intelligence 12 / Perception 11.

Su Chen had just eaten, otherwise the increased energy conversion efficiency would have probably made him even hungrier.

With his physical endurance enhanced, the most direct effect was that his breathing became longer and deeper. He subconsciously glanced at his watch; after his body stabilized, his resting heart rate had dropped by a few points.

As for his underlying resistance to diseases and toxins, and his wound healing speed, there was no way to quantify those directly.

These were the biggest worries when traversing a primeval forest.

’The next step for enhancing my body...’

Su Chen didn’t immediately consider absorbing all the eerie green mineral crystals in his backpack; after all, he still needed them as a portable power bank.

’In that case, it has to be the Strength Attribute.’

He poured the Scorching Beam Rune out from its bottle. This Rune, which was close to reaching Lv3, instantly merged with his family’s Jade Pendant, dyeing it the color of a top-grade Red Jade.

’That should be enough to feed it in one go.’

After confirming there were no issues, Su Chen packed up his things, shouldered his backpack, and immediately led Xiaoye down the slope.

A moment later, a large bird gleaming with lightning appeared in the sky and suddenly swooped down onto the small building’s roof.

CLINK!

The thunder falcon’s beak was sharper than a steel awl. With a single peck, it pierced a hole straight through. After three consecutive pecks, the building’s surface rippled violently, as if it might disintegrate at any moment.

It seemed to have sensed the high-purity energy stored within the building and was actually trying to draw it out.

If it kept this up, the mysterious building would inevitably fall apart. Su Chen couldn’t just stand by and watch.

In the next instant, a black shadow shot out from the forest shadows to the side. Xiaoye leaped silently onto the roof, and a single Soul-Splitting Claw snapped the falcon’s neck. Blood gushed out like a fountain as the thunder falcon’s corpse slid off the roof.

When Su Chen arrived, he was finally able to observe the building up close.

It was remarkably small.

It was no more than three meters high and about two meters wide. If not for the shimmering Rune glow on its surface and its fantastical, enchanting appearance, it wouldn’t have attracted such frequent visits from the monsters.

Nothing unusual happened as he got closer.

After a moment’s thought, Su Chen decided to try touching it.

BUZZ!

A mysterious stream of information flowed silently into his mind. To make it easier to understand, it was as if Su Chen had put on an AR headset, and an interactive interface appeared before him.

[Hidden Shop · Limited Time: 51:03]

”A limited-time shop?” Su Chen was taken aback.

51:02... 51:01...

The countdown was really running.

In the center of the interface, twelve items were neatly displayed, each glowing faintly. Their names and effects were clear at a glance.

There were Potions, equipment, and other items.

Unfortunately, because the building had been damaged, the items at the top of the list—[Power Ring], [Great Life Potion], [Invisibility Cloak], and [Bronze Summoning Book]—had all suffered data loss, making them impossible to inspect or purchase.

Their names alone were tempting.

Especially the Great Life Potion; it sounded like it could save lives.

[Empowerment Potion]: One Water Element Essence.

(Effect: After consumption, instantly replenishes all Rune Energy within seconds.)

’This is good stuff.’

Su Chen’s eyes lit up. This could solve an urgent problem.

You could say that no one would regret buying one to keep as a spare.

’I can get it for just one Water Element Essence. The price is so low, it’s practically a limited-time special offer.’

If there was any downside, it was the purchase limit of two.

Su Chen didn’t hesitate for a moment, immediately taking the bottle containing the Water Element Essences from his backpack.

After a morning of clearing out monsters, his Water Mirror Rune was only one Light Element Essence away from upgrading to Lv3.

He’d been stuck on that, but on the other hand, after killing a water snake and a water fox, he had ended up with four extra Water Element Essences.

With a thought, he confirmed the transaction on the interface.

The two essences in his hand were immediately drawn away by some force. Shortly after they merged into the mysterious building, two small vials floated out from the depths of the light screen, as if part of an exchange, and landed steadily in Su Chen’s hand.

To verify its authenticity, he drank one of the vials on the spot.

About five seconds passed.

BUZZ!!

In an instant, the five Runes deep in his consciousness erupted with a brilliant luster. As the light bloomed, their energy was instantly and fully replenished.

’God-tier.’

That was Su Chen’s assessment.

It was worthy of its status as a limited-time, limited-quantity special offer.

If there were no limits or any kind of potion resistance, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to stockpile dozens of them.

With such a good start, he grew even more curious about the effects of the other items.

After quickly scanning Potions like [Speed Potion] and [Focus Potion], he discovered that these attribute-boosting items were all single-use consumables and didn’t provide any permanent effects.

There were no god-tier effects like ’agility +1’.

The reason he cared about this was that Su Chen realized the shop’s exchange-and-transform effect was, in its own way, a method of conversion and feedback.

’How interesting.’

As he explored deeper, he was slowly piecing together the underlying logic of how this world operated.